


Omovember Day 16

by AllThingsGeeky



Series: Omovember 2019 [16]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Accidental wetting, Anxiety, Male Desperation, Omorashi, Omovember, Omovember Day 16, Other, Wetting, male omorashi, substance abuse mention, tony flirts with everyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 13:43:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21459001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllThingsGeeky/pseuds/AllThingsGeeky
Summary: Formal Clothes (sorry again for getting the last two back to front! (>~<))
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Omovember 2019 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533119
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	Omovember Day 16

“I don’t want to wear this.”

“It’s for a couple hours while we have dinner, you can handle it-“

“It’s  _ itchy _ .” Bruce hissed, scratching angrily at his neck. “And the collar won’t stay  _ down- grrrr-“ _

“Come here you big baby.” Nat sighed watching the very tips of her boyfriend’s ears tinge green. All afternoon she’d been talking the man down. It was their first social outing as a group in well- ever. Bruce never tended to join them at such events due to the high levels of stress and anxiety they induced; two things that weren’t conducive with keeping their big green friend at bay. So when Fury has insisted Bruce attend the banquet being held in the Avengers honor, everyone had been put on edge; but none more than Bruce. “I know you’re stressed about going out tonight, but you have to relax. The more stressed you get the more likely-“

“You don’t think I know that?!” Bruce snapped though his eyes went wide as his girlfriends expression soured. 

She’d still been fixing his collar so she had the perfect leverage to pull the man up by his lapels. “You wanna try that again, tough guy?” 

“Sorry.” Bruce said earnestly, giving her a sheepish look. 

“That’s what I thought.” She smiled sweetly and let go of him, before turning her attention back to his stubbornly starched collar. “It’s gonna be fine.”

“And what if it’s not.” Bruce muttered quietly. 

“Then we’ll deal with it.” She shrugged simply. Despite having answered Bruce’s hypothetical questions at least twenty times that day, she didn’t grow frustrated. She didn’t even bat an eye. One of them had to stay calm. “You know Tony has a plan for everything, we wouldn’t have agreed to this if we didn’t think you were ready.”

“What if  _ I  _ don’t think I’m ready? I’m not a child, but suddenly everyone can make decisions for me-“

“Acting like a brat is not going to get you what you want.” Nat growled when Bruce started to raise his voice again. It always worked, the doctor could never yell at her for more than a few seconds; both out of principle but it also helped snap him back into reality before the big guy got hold of him. Nat was the only one Hulk seemed to pay attention to, so it was a good thing Bruce had managed to woo her just as well. “Couple hours. We show our faces. You show everyone you’re not a big scary green monster- you’re a sweet, smart little hobbit-“

“Grrr-“

“Oh I’m terrified honey.” Nat smirked, kissing Bruce's slightly green tinged cheek as she turned away. She waited in the doorway for him to follow her. “Come on. You’re not gonna leave a lady waiting are you?” 

“Is Pepper coming?”

“Ha.” Nat let our a singular sarcastic laugh as he looped his arm through hers. “Come on shithead.” 

“Yes dear.” Bruce groaned as he was dragged out of the sanctity of his bedroom. What he would’ve given to be able to crawl under his duvet and hide for the rest of the evening..

Nat led her nervous partner into the living room where everyone else was waiting somewhat patiently. They were all dressed to the nines; even Thor who usually threw a pink fit about wearing anything with more than four buttons, was wearing a tux. 

As soon as they entered the room all eyes fell on Bruce; despite the fact that Nick had ordered Bruce’s attendance, they’d all figured that he’d find a way to wiggle out of it like he usually did. 

Tony was clearly the most excited. “Awwww- look at you!”

Steve gave the brunette a stern look as he assumed he was teasing. “Tony be nice-“

“I am being nice! It’s good to see you out of those knitted sweaters doc.” Tony grinned as he bounded over to Bruce and gave him a very violent one armed hug around the shoulders; before annoyingly kissing him on the cheek. “You look very handsome.”

“Have you been drinking?” Bruce deadpanned, not letting on that he was phased by Tony’s hyperactive behaviour- because he wasn’t. He was more than used to the man ramping up his confidence on nights out; that was just how his anxiety manifested. Whereas Bruce wanted to run away and hide Tony made himself the life of the party. Everyone has their issues. 

“I wish.” Tony sighed dreamily before skipping back over to the couch and throwing himself down. “Maybe if I’m lucky tonight I can slip away and have a little-”

“Not happening.” Pepper chimed in, popping her head around the doorway, still putting her earrings in. 

“You’re on babysitting duty too?” Nat gave Pepper a weighted, wordless look and the blonde nodded. They shared a sympathetic nod to one another, before glancing at Steve who was attempting to wrangle Thor back into the room once he announced he was taking his tie off. Yeah, they both were glad they weren’t on Thor duty tonight. 

“You do look very nice, Bruce.” Pepper gave the doctor a genuine smile before she walked over to straighten Tony’s tie again. 

“Thank you.” Bruce mumbled in response to all the compliments he was getting. Dear god compliments were so uncomfortable. 

  
  


But not as uncomfortable as Bruce was when it was time to leave the car. The ride to the event had been entirely too short and Bruce could feel a cold sweat come over him as soon as he saw the lines of people. So many people. So many people that could get hurt if he lost control for even a second. 

So much could go wrong; someone could yell at him, he could get into a fight- hell all it took was someone treading on his foot and he could Hulk out. He could end up hurting all these people. 

He’d been doing so well, it had been a while since he’d Hulked our accidentally, a long while. But that was mostly due to the fact that he avoided situations uch a these; ones that carried such a high risk factor. The best way to avoid stress is to  _ avoid stress.  _ But this was the opposite- Bruce was expected to walk into a whole heap of stress with a fucking smile on his face; right now all he could manage was a pained, jaw clenched grin that looked more serial-killerish than calm celebrity. 

Fortunately the rest of them understood and left the car quickly, allowing Nat to have that extra time to try and calm the man down before they entered the building. 

“I can’t do this.” Bruce muttered, his eyes scanning the crowds of people. The noises, the flashing lights, the densely packed red carpet- a  _ red fucking carpet.  _ He wasn’t doing it. He knew that was the whole point of the excursion, to show his face as Bruce Banner- but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to be seen, he didn’t want to be blasted all over the tabloids and scrutinised- he wanted to go  _ home.  _ He wasn’t a superhero, he was just a doctor- if they wanted the real Avengers he should’ve let Nat try and wrangle Hulk into that stupid itchy shirt and uncomfortable stiff suit-

“Yes you can.” Nat said confidently, gripping her boyfriend's hand. She wasn’t one to show physical affection of any sort outside of their bedroom, so the gesture meant a lot; even if it didn’t stop Bruce from hyperventilating it certainly brought him some comfort. 

“No I can’t- it's too much pressure there are too many people I’m gonna Hulk out- I don’t- I don’t-“

“Deep breaths. You’ve got this.” The woman didn’t leave much more room for protest as she pulled him from the car; gently, but forcefully as she knew the longer he sat there, the more worked up he would get. “Just one foot in front of the other. Walking is easy. You’ve been doing it for forty years.” 

Bruce made sure to keep his eyes straight ahead, like they’d been instructed to do; and walked gracefully along the carpet without incident. He could hear the roaring crowds of people talking and chattering, but he drowned it out, staring at the door they were being lead through. At one point there was a microphone shoved in his face, which made him freeze like a cornered animal; he’d never felt such an intense panic as he heard some journalists ask him something that he didn’t hear. 

“Uh- pardon?” He stammered, all he could hear was the blood rushing to his ears. The scary looking blond lady with way too much makeup and wild eyes repeated her question- but this time it was Nat who answered.

And it wasn’t Bruce they had to worry about Hulking out; their resident red haired Russian was the one who looked furious. “Look here bi-“ 

But thankfully Steve appeared between them; blocking both the camera and the microphone as Nat started blurting obscenities. “Candace! Great to see you, it’s been a while.”

Nat dragged Bruce the rest of the way into the building, squeezing his hand tight enough to make him wince. The doctor was too dazed to fully comprehend what was going on though he did make a mental note to thank Steve for saving them from what would likely be a scandal. 

“What was that about?” Clint asked but Bruce shrugged and Nat growled in response. 

Bruce turned to his girlfriend not fully understanding her reaction. “What did she say?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Nat said through gritted teeth and the men backed away slightly, not wanting to be in the line of fire. “Fucking bitch..who does she think she is asking shit like that..okhu`el piz`da..”

“Jeez Nat, take a chill pill- and if you have any I would love some. Oh no we lost Steveo- what a shame.” Tony pouted sarcastically before cackling as he glanced over at Steve; the blond being hounded by at least six people with cameras and microphones. 

“Babe go save him.” Pepper sighed tiredly as Tony continued to grin when Steve tried to back away, only to be cornered again. 

“No way! He’s fine, I don’t have to worry about him. He’s great at censoring himself.” Tony shrugged lightly and started to walk away. “He’ll catch up, come on kids, I’m hungry.” 

The banquet hall was entirely too massive for Bruce’s liking, easily tripling the size of Tony’s lab- and that was saying something. It was structured like a large theatre, with galleries looking over the main floor and stage where Tony would be inevitably giving a speech. Thankfully, their table wasn’t centre stage, they were up on the second floor overlooking the room; which was most likely for security reasons but Bruce was feeling anything but secure. He was feeling decidedly exposed and vulnerable even as he sat down at the table. 

Of course, being the smallest he was forced to sit at the very end, squashed in the corner between two walls, which wasn’t ideal. Not only due to the fact he may need to make a sudden exit (you know..Hulk and all that) but he was already starting to feel a pressure in his stomach that wasn’t down to nerves. 

Nat had rushed him out the door before he could take his last bathroom break- which he always did, you know, just in case; but this time he actually  _ needed  _ that just in case break- this. This was the case he was worried about. Literally one of his worst fears. He was trapped out in public in need of the restroom, when he was already stressed up to the eyeballs. He didn’t exactly have the largest bladder- not the smallest, but certainly not the largest either, and having a naturally nervous disposition didn’t help matters. 

He knew he ought to just ask his friends to let him back out but he also knew he was sat in the corner for a reason; So everyone could keep an eye on him and make sure he was alright. Which he was, he’d be fine, he was a grown adult. If he stopped being so anxious the feeling would die down and he’d be able to make it through the evening without issue. 

Except he couldn’t relax. He kept nervously sipping his water throughout the evening which only worsened the issue. It didn’t help that everytime he emptied his glass one of the wait staff filled it up for him again the second he set it on the table. And he couldn’t verbally protest because, well that would be rude, right? So he should stop drinking- but if he had liquid in his mouth people wouldn’t force him to talk and his mouth kept getting unnervingly dry due to the constant nervous swallowing and-

Oh god he had to pee. He really had to pee. It was getting to the point where every so often he had to tense his thighs together and it was beginning to show on his face how uncomfortable he was. Everyone kept asking if he was alright- which they would be doing anyway given the circumstances, but even Thor was starting to give him the side eye. He should’ve gone before he sat down but he’d been pushed from pillar to post- he didn’t feel like he had the chance to ask for anything, let alone for a break and now he’d gone and made it worse by over estimating his ability to hold it and- and Nat said they’d go home after a couple hours and it had already been three and- and why hadn’t Tony given his stupid speech already?! How long was he going to be stuck here?! He had to get out- he had to get out of here right now before- before something really bad happened- fuck, Fuck, FUCK!

Despite the doctor having an internal freak out, he remained relatively calm on the outside. Other than the occasional facial twitch or waver in his voice he managed to keep a calm facade, much calmer than he felt anyway. He’d gotten pretty good at that after all these years but even his resolve was starting to fail as the incessant pressure in his ambdomen grew to uncomfortable proportions. He was quiet, but he was always quiet so it went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the group. But someone noticed that his behaviour was off and it wasn’t who one may initially expect. 

Tony had been eyeing the doctor across the table all evening. He wasn’t exactly thrilled about being there either and maybe he was looking for an excuse to bail- but this wasn’t that. No something was up. Bruce had been especially silent and withdrawn that night, which was expected given this was the first time he’d been in such a public setting for years; but he was jumpy and distracted- every time someone spoke to him he looked taken aback like he was being snapped out of a daydream. And he was shaking, not the usual nervous shakes either, he was shivering like there was a chill in the air despite it being roasting in the packed amphitheater. Tony noticed his hands quivering every time he took a drink-

Ah. Okay. He had a hunch of what it was now. 

He watched the doctor for a bit longer to try and confirm his suspicions; and it wasn’t long until Bruce did so. 

It wasn’t that Bruce was shy admitting he needed to go, not inherently. He found it rather uncomfortable to excuse himself, but he was a rational adult, he could say so if he had to. No, the issue was that he had no clue where the restrooms were and even should he ask he imagined that he’d easily get lost in such a large place; especially with it so densely packed with chairs and tables and people. He was getting disoriented just sitting there, the over stimulating environment was wreaking havoc on his senses and making everything feel like it was underwater. Oh the joys of anxiety. 

But it was getting bad now. They had only gotten through the starter and by the looks of things Tony wouldn’t be giving his speech until much later than planned; there was no way he’d be able to hold out the entire evening. He was just going to have to risk it.

“I gotta go.” Bruce said quietly to Nat, prompting the woman to let him squeeze past her. 

Nat turned to him with a slightly exasperated look. “Babe not yet just wait until-“

“No I mean..look nevermind.” Bruce sighed and sat back against his seat. Having the woman react harshly knocked his confidence, though he knew she didn’t mean it and should he say what he really meant she’d let him out immediately; the idea of having to then ask everyone else to move out for him and then have to ask even more people just where the bathrooms were- it seemed like too much of a hassle and he was already getting himself worked up again when he tried to look for the exit. 

But Nat sensed that she’d gotten the wrong end of the stick and tried to find out what was really going on; dropping any ounce of frustration from her tone as she gently tried again. “What’s wrong?”

“Forget it, it doesn’t matter.” Bruce said a little too quickly, looking away from her. Internally he was screaming at himself to just man up and tell her- but his head was getting all fuzzy and for some reason that just felt impossible. 

“Babe if you’re stressed I wanna-“

Tony could see Bruce was only getting more stressed by her asking, so he decided to help the man out. He stood up and clapped his hands on the table loudly as he did so. “Welp, I gotta piss.”

“Good to know Tony.” Clint rolled his eyes, along with Steve and Pepper who gave him disapproving looks for his crudeness. “If you make it this time you get a sticker.”

“Really?!” Tony squealed with false excitement, holding his hands up to his face. “Can it be one of the glittery Hawkeye ones- oh wait they don’t make merch of you because you suck.” 

“Eat my ass Tony.” Clint rolled his eyes, ignoring the look he received from Steve for his use of language. 

“Maybe later if you’re extra sweet to me.” Tony grinned as he leaned over to pinch the archers cheek on his way past. 

“Tony don’t you go near that bar.” Steve said seriously, looking Tony up and down. 

“I won’t.” Tony replied, only to find the rest of the table eyeing him sceptically. Little did they know they were feeding right into Tony’s escape plan. “I  _ won’t.  _ Ugh fine, if you don’t believe me I’ll have the good doctor escort me- come on Brucie.” 

Nat looked hesitant. She didn’t like the idea of Tony dragging Bruce through all of those crowds when he was already clearly distressed about something; and she was currently trying to get to the bottom of it. “Tony don’t you think it’s best to leave him-“ 

“No, I think it’s best if he accompanies me, because I assume that the hallways are going to be a lot less crowded than here and he could do with a breather- maybe you could let  _ him _ talk, hm? He’s a big boy, don’t you think it’s time you let him make decisions for himself? Momma widow?” 

“Fuck you.” Nat sneered But she scooted her chair in to let Bruce past; and she didn’t fail to notice how eager he seemed to be to get out. Maybe Tony had been right, maybe he did need a breather. 

“Again maybe later, it looks like I’m going to have a busy night. Come on B, my bladders going to burst and I want a sticker on my chart.” Tony flashed Nat a shit eating grin before beckoning Bruce forward. As soon as they were out of earshot of the table Tony casually leaned in and whispered to the shorter man. “You alright?”

“Mhm.” Bruce hummed quietly, sounding entirely unconvincing. He was well aware that Tony already knew what was going on with him and he was torn between being mortified and relieved. It was humiliating to have his friend and colleague have to help him out of such a situation; he detested relying on other people for anything let alone such private matters. And he should have known better that to let himself get into such a state, he could barely stand still long enough to duck in and out of people’s way. 

“Wanna go here or find somewhere more private?” Tony asked, keeping his voice as light as possible as not to make the situation anymore awkward for his friend. He wasn’t bothered by it at all, having been in the same boat more than once himself and, just recently, having acquired a young apprentice who seemed to get himself in similar situations on a daily basis. 

“Don’t know.” Bruce mumbled again, even quieter this time. 

“Okay. We’ll check out the lines and you can let me know.” Tony shrugged with a small smile. He knew how his friend was with crowds, especially in restrooms; and the last thing they needed was Bruce getting knocked about by a bunch of (mostly inebriated at this point) people. 

Fortunately Tony had held events at this venue before and knew his way around; but unfortunately by the time he led Bruce to the nearest restroom a long queue had formed in the hallway, to the point that they wouldn’t even see the door. So Tony lead him to the next one, same thing. Apparently everyone had decided to use the restroom at the same time between courses; which usually wouldn’t have been an issue but it was clear that Bruce was growing more uncomfortable by the second and Tony was starting to worry about his friends ability to wait.

Tony thought about leading Bruce to the front of the line and cutting in but ultimately decided against it; Bruce would’ve hated that much attention being forced on him and publicity wise (not that he cared, he cared more about his friends welfare, but he still had to consider their public image during such things) it probably wouldn’t look great. Either there would be stories told about how the Avengers were entitled assholes who cut in line or the Avengers couldn’t hold their bladders. Neither of which sounded particularly appealing. 

But it was becoming increasingly obvious that Bruce wasn’t going to make it much longer; and Tony didn’t want to risk taking him to yet another packed restroom only to find themselves in the exact same situation they started in. So quietly pulled Bruce aside, away from yet another room packed with people and whispered to him. “Do we need to get you out of here?”

Bruce wanted to say no for the sake of his pride, he desperately wanted to; but he knew his limits. If he said no and insisted he was fine, he was going to end up totally embarrassing himself in front of all these people. That was not the kind of image Fury had wanted him to portray of himself. Swallowing and nodding his head slightly Bruce accepted the man’s help. “Yes.”

Tony nodded calmly, whipping his phone out. Not two seconds later he was pulling Bruce by his sleeve, rounding a corner and going through a door labelled ‘staff only’. Typical. “Come on. I’ll have Hap meet us out back.”

Bruce nodded shakily, going along with wherever the man was leading him; which apparently was down a load of halls and steps to an employee parking lot so Happy could take them to another location where there wouldn’t be so many people in line for the bathroom. 

But the walk was longer that Bruce remembered it being and he was sure Tony was leading him even further away from relief. His bladder was pounding in a way that let him know he wasn’t going to last much longer; but surely that couldn’t happen. He was a grown adult he..he was in control- he  _ had to be in control.  _ Bad things happen when Bruce Banner lost control. 

Things like this didn’t happen to him. He was the sensible one, he- he planned for things. He stayed away from crowded spaces, he went to the bathroom just in case, he didn’t drink more than he could handle-  _ he didn’t do those things.  _ There was no way in a million years he’d let something like this happen to him. He was the smart one. This wasn’t smart he felt so- so  _ stupid _ .

And his stupid body was deciding once again to betray him. Descending a staircase had been absolutely torturous and each step forced liquid out of him. He could see the door leading out to the parking lot but his legs decided to stop moving, and he was stuck frozen at the bottom of the stairwell with his legs bowed in. 

But Tony didn’t let him freeze, he continued to pull him until they were outside; and the second the cool air hit him so did a wave of desperation- and it hit him like a freight train. Bruce didn’t even get a chance to cross his legs before it started flooding out of him. This couldn’t be happening. “Tony I..I..”

“We’re almost there, Hap is just round that-“ Tony turned around and saw what was happening; cutting himself off in the middle of his sentence. “Oh.” 

Bruce was standing bow legged, leaning against the wall as his bladder gave out on him; sending liquid cascading down his legs and pooling by his feet in two small puddles. His black dress pants grew shiny under the floodlights around the employee exit, highlighting exactly what was happening; as if the hissing noise wasn’t enough of a give away. It didn’t take long for the puddles to spread, joining into one massive one as Bruce completely flooded himself. 

There was a tense silence for a moment as Tony waited until Bruce stood up straight again, signifying he was finished; before he even attempted to comfort the man. “Bruce it’s ok-“

“Don’t.” Bruce said sternly, voice wavering on sadness and fury though it leaned towards the former. By the time he managed to regain enough strength to stand up straight he was breathless and shaking. He didn’t dare look down at the mess he’d made, he just pushed himself off of the wall he’d been using to prop himself up and walked away without looking back. 

Tony waited until they had rounded the corner and were far away from the puddle the man had left before he tried again. “Bruce it’s okay-“

“Not it’s not okay!” Bruce bellowed angrily; completely snapping and he was surprised he didn’t Hulk out right there. “It’s not okay I’m fucking- this is so- ugh! I’m a fucking grown ass man this shouldn’t  _ happen to me-“ _

“B, it happens.” Tony said simply. There was no use launching into a lecture about how it happens to everyone at some point, how even doctors overestimate their limits- all that crap. Bruce already knew all of it as he was usually the one delivering those speeches. Besides, Tony knew it wouldn’t help. The man was humiliated, understandably, the last thing he needed was someone giving him some spiel about how he should be feeling. Bruce spent 99% of his time pushing down his feelings so for once Tony decided it was okay for him to let some of it out. He was allowed to be upset, he was allowed to be mad- he’d just pissed himself for Christ’s sake. He was gonna let Bruce feel what he needed to, process it instead of trying to bury it, and maybe, just maybe,they could avoid a Hulk out. 

Tony knew Bruce needed practical help more than emotional support in that moment anyway; which was great because he was good at one of those things and terrible and the other. “Happy’s bringing you something to change into, I texted Nat that you threw up because you got anxious and we’ll meet her at home.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” Bruce swallowed, eyes cast towards the ground. 

“No I didn’t.” Tony said quietly before leading Bruce towards where Happy was meeting them. 

“She’s gonna know it’s a lie.” Bruce muttered bitterly, thinking about the conversation he was going to have to have with his partner.

“Yes she will but we can deal with that later.” Tony shrugged. 

“What about your speech?”

“You think I wanted to be here anyway? The smell of whiskey is making me salivate and I wanna get out of here too.” Tony admitted, before clearing his throat and drawing a sharp breath through his nose. He then shook slightly, shaking off the emotions he’d just let slip past the wall he’d built, and adorned his Stark mask again. A routine he had plenty of practise with, after all, Bruce wasn’t the only one who spent 99% of the time hiding his emotions. 

“Oh, T.” Bruce cringed. He’d been so wrapped up in his own anxiety that night, he forgot how difficult social events were on the recovering alcoholic. Tony always made so many jokes about it, sometimes even the doctor forgot the man was trying so desperately hard to stay on the wagon. It must’ve been torture to have to decline every drink that was on offer- even Bruce himself, with a bladder full to the brim, had been subject to the social pressure. 

“Thanks but I don’t want any pity from Mr. Piss Pants.” Tony flashed Bruce a grin, which he revived a growl in return for, just as Happy pulled up. “Come on, let’s get you home.” 

  
  


They made it home in one piece, Bruce and Tony both content on not mentioning the incident ever again; once the doctor had thanked the other man for his help, of course. Once he was home, back in his safe place, and showered Bruce felt a lot better. He still spent the remainder of the evening silently berating himself for all the stupid decisions he’d made, but Tony was there to counter act it; continuously telling his friend that it was okay, that its happens, that everyone makes mistakes- even going as far as to recite that stupid Hannah Montana song, though Bruce was pretty sure that was just to make him laugh. 

And it worked. Tony really helped him not slip into completely season self segregation mode, like he usually did after such an embarrassing event. The urge to haul himself up in his room and not talk to anyone for days was unbearably strong but he didn’t give into it. He didn’t need to anymore and besides no one knew what happened. And no one needed to. 

But once their other housemates arrived home they were more intrigued about the pairs wearabouts than Bruce was comfortable with.

“I get that Bruce was sick but why did you skip out?” Clint asked pointedly at Tony. It was clear none of them believed Tony’s lie about the doctor taking ill; and Clint was using the opportunity while the others got changed to interrogate them. 

“Bruce wasn’t sick.” Tony replied calmly, flipping through TV stations without so much as offering Clint a glance in his direction. Bruce tensed, thinking Tony was about to give him up; though he knew the man would never do that. Clint automatically assumed Tony had a slip and Bruce had to drag him away from the bar after all. But Tony’s actual response surprised everyone. “I pissed myself.” 

“You what?” Clint asked with a small disbelieving laugh. 

“The line was too long, I pissed myself.” Tony repeated bluntly, no inflection of any emotion evident in his voice. 

“Why didn’t you just jump the que? Pull the ‘I’m Tony Stark’ card?” Clint prompted for more information, unsatisfied with Tony’s vague answer. His expression wavered in amusement and concern but ultimately lead towards the latter. Bruce expected him to make fun but Clint’s smirked dropped when Tony shrugged. “Are you okay?” 

“Yep. Nothing hurt but my pride.” Tony shrugged again with a yawn as he finally settled on a channel he was happy with. “Feel free to tell everyone else, I don’t really give a shit.”

But Clint shook his head and sat down beside the man; looking worried as he checked him over. Bruce was surprised at his reaction; Clint and Tony were known for constantly teasing one another so he’d expected the archer to jump on the chance, but he was taking it so seriously. In a way it made Bruce feel even more guilty about Tony taking the rap for him; at least if they joked he could laugh it off- then again, if Clint had tried to joke with him about it, Bruce was pretty sure he’d be embarrassed beyond belief.

The shift in dynamic was intriguing to say the least, but Bruce found he couldn’t be more grateful. 

“I ain’t gonna do that. I’m not an asshole.” 

“Debatable.” Tony smirked. 

The archer rolled his eyes. “Prick.”

“I’m more upset that I won’t get my sticker now.” Tony yawned and stretched before putting his feet up on the table casually. 

“I’m sure a sticker for effort can be arranged.” Clint chuckled and clapped a comforting hand on Tony’s shoulder; clearly satisfied that his friend wasn’t too traumatised by his accident. 

“Woo!” Tony fake cheered. 

The rest of the evening was calm and relaxed, much more the way Bruce liked it. He was upset to have ruined what was meant to be a breakthrough moment for him and his fear of public outings- but, as Tony continued to remind him, at least he didn’t Hulk out. That was the main focus of the evening so he’d hit his target, just not in the way he’d intended. Still, he was slightly proud of himself for not switching after the incident like he’d initially wanted to; with his friend’s prompting he’d allowed himself to go through the motions rather than railing against them or letting them take him over completely. Despite his extreme embarrassment he couldn’t help but feel rather..balanced. Rather normal- for once. 

Clint also kept his word and didn't mention anything to anyone about ‘Tony’ having an accident; and was in fact fiercely defensive when anyone suggested the brunette simply wanted to go home. 

Nat still caught on- because of course she did. Almost immediately when Bruce left she realised what had happened but elected not to say anything to the rest of the team; though she promised him they would be talking about it later, if not just so Bruce could get the incident completely out of his system. She knew what her boyfriend was like, how he’d likely spend the next few months letting the incident eat away at him, staying awake at night to think about just how embarrassing that was- but she was more than prepared. 

As everyone was turning in for bed, Bruce made sure to pull Tony aside and thank him once more; which as expected Tony brushed off. “Eh, you’d do it for me.” 

“But telling Clint it was you- you didn’t have to do that you know.” 

Tony just shrugged. “I know.” 

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I decided to pick on someone that wasn’t Peter for once.   
This came out a little weird and rushed and I’m super sorry for the late upload! (Technically on the 17th for me but shhhh the Americans don’t need to know!)   
But yeah, not my favourite but it was fun to write about the adults and their dynamics  
But of course Tony was the hero again because I can’t help but write him that way 😂even though realistically any one of them would’ve helped Bruce out- at least in my HC’s


End file.
